Boat Mail Express
The Rameswaram Express, formerly known as the Boat Mail or Indo-Ceylon Express, is an express train connecting Rameswaram with the Tamil Nadu state capital Chennai via Tambaram, Chengalpettu, Melmaruvathur, Viluppuram, Cuddalore Port, Chidambaram, Sirkazhi, Mayiladuthurai, Thanjavur, Tiruchchirappalli, Pudukkottai, Karaikudi, Sivagangai, Manamadurai, Paramakkudi and Ramanathapuram.
In the 20th century, it operated as a combined train-steamer ferry-train service between India and Sri Lanka, linking Chennai and Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Initially, the service utilized a rail-to-sea operation, which later evolved into a rail-sea-rail operation. Passengers could purchase a single ticket for the entire journey from Chennai to Colombo. After Indian independence, the ferry service was discontinued and the train operated under the name Dhanushkodi Express from Chennai Egmore to Dhanushkodi. Following the destruction of Dhanushkodi in the cyclone of 1964, the train service was halted. It now runs only from Chennai Egmore up to Rameswaram.
History
The train's name commemorates the 19th-century mail service between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. It is one of the top prestigious trains of Indian Railways, as it completed 100 years of service in 2014. Before the cyclone, the train was running as a metre-gauge train from to via,, Cuddalore Port Junction,,,,, Pudukkottai,,Devakottai, Sivagangai,, and Rameswaram. Due to the conversion of metre gauge to broad gauge, the train was stopped. After the completion of the broad-gauge track in the Chennai–Madurai–Rameswaram line, the train is resumed via. Later the conversion of the Tiruchirappalli–Manamadurai line, this train is rerouted via that route which skips Madurai. Finally, the Mayiladuthurai to Thanjavur line is converted to broad gauge once again this train is rerouted via Thanjavur which is the present route of Boat Mail Express.
Tuticorin–Colombo era
The train was inaugurated on January 1, 1880. The railway portion of the route within India was from Madras to Tuticorin. At Tuticorin, passengers embarked on the boat mail steamer to Colombo in Ceylon. The train took 21 hours and 50 minutes for the journey from Madras to Tuticorin. The Boat Mail was one of the early trains to be given vestibuled carriages, in 1898. Presently this train route is running as Pearl City Express.Dhanushkodi–Talaimannar era
In 1914, after the Pamban bridge was built, the train's route changed and it went from Madras to Dhanushkodi. A much shorter ferry service then took the passengers to Talaimannar in Ceylon, from where another train went to Colombo. The long ferry journey was considerably shorter than the long Tuticorin-Colombo route. Since the 1930s, this train has been rerouted from its original route via Madurai Junction to its present-day route due to the opening of the Trichinopoly - Manamadurai railway route which is shorter distance in comparison with its original route which leads to reduction in overall travel time.Post cyclone
In 1964, a passenger train was washed into the sea by huge waves during the 1964 cyclone, while it was near Dhanushkodi. The railway tracks and the pier at Dhanushkodi were also destroyed. Following this, the Indian portion of the train service now only operates up to Rameswaram, while the ferry service to Talaimannar has restarted from Rameswaram has been discontinued from 1984 due to Tamil Eelam issue. It now runs between and via,,, ,,,,,,,, Devakottai Road, Kallal,,, and in the Indian end where as it runs as Colombo - Thalaimannar Night Mail express at the Sri Lankan end.Schedule
- 16751 – Starts from Chennai Egmore daily at 19:15 IST and reaches Rameswaram the next day at 08:10 AM IST
- 16752 – Leaves Rameswaram every day at 17:25 IST and reaches Chennai Egmore the next morning 07:25 AM IST
Traction
Coach composition
The train consists of 23 coaches.It shares its rakes with the Sethu Superfast Express, operates daily and covers a distance of.It includes one AC first class cum 2nd AC, AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, sleeper class, unreserved general sitting coach, and end on generators. The Train Will Shares Its Rake With Madurai Thiruvananthapuram Amritha Express After Extension And Inauguration Of New Pamban Bridge.
| Loco | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| SLR | GS | GS | S1 | S2 | S3 | S4 | S5 | S6 | S7 | S8 | S9 | S10 | S11 | S12 | S13 | B3 | B2 | B1 | A1 | HA1 | GS | SLR |